Imagine for your condition, from start to finish, being taken care of at one group of buildings with a committed group of doctors and staff for up to 90 days.  Imagine a bundle payment opportunity so you are not bombarded by bills from all the service entities.  Imagine less appointments at various offices, less travel, less waiting, better treatment, better outcomes and an overall better experience for you, the patient.  This is the plan in process at Arcadia Methodist Hospital.

Debbie McCoy R.N., M.S., F.A.C.H.E. described  the expansion of services and the increased integration of those services for certain common disease types:  cardiovascular, colorectal, gynecology, total joint replacement and spinal fusion.  There are  now dedicated facilities (called clinics or institutes) on the hospital campus or in nearby buildings with examination rooms and equipment designed especially for each condition.  Doctors are asked to commit more to the hospital and in turn the hospital provides facilities better than each doctor could afford on their own.

The “integration part” is developing a continuum of care from the beginning of the patient experience, diagnosis, patient education, surgery/treatment and rehabilitation until they are well or stable. There is coordination between the health care providers (doctors, nurses, therapists etc.)  in varied health care settings (hospital, clinics etc) taking care of the varied diagnoses a patient may have for a better overall experience for all those involved.

The developments can only occur because of California State Statute 1206(d) that now allows hospitals to own clinics which affords in addition to patient care, patient education and research opportunities.

The newest facility focused on post-stroke rehabilitation at Methodist is the Acute Rehabilitation Center which opened last week on the third floor .  Patients may have to relearn to speak, walk and do activities of normal daily living after a stroke. The varied therapists and doctors are now available in this state of the art setting.

Debbie confirmed the new expansion is at the highest level of service for which the hospital is known: 5 star rated by Medicare which is in the top 2% in the nation and rated #8 in the nation for patient safety.